NCI Special Initiatives

Cancer Moonshot℠ Funding Opportunities NCI is accepting applications for research grants that support the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations to speed progress in cancer research and lead to improved cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.

MERIT AwardEarly Stage Investigators who have submitted an R01 application within the NCI payline may be eligible for consideration for the Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) (R37) Award.

Outstanding Investigator Award The Outstanding Investigator Award gives investigators the freedom to work on long-term projects with unusual potential in cancer research.

Provocative Questions Program Provocative Questions is an NCI initiative that intends to assemble a list of important questions, or problems that are paradoxes in cancer research that will stimulate research communities to use laboratory, clinical, and population sciences in new, effective, and imaginative ways.

RAS Initiative The RAS Initiative enlists collaborators from all sectors of the research community to work together to attack mutant RAS-driven cancers.

Research Specialist Award (R50)The R50 encourages the development of stable research career opportunities for exceptional scientists who want to continue to pursue research within the context of an existing NCI-funded basic, translational, clinical or population science cancer research program, but not serve as independent investigators.

NCI Funding Opportunities by Research Topic

Basic Biology Research projects in basic cancer biology are supported and coordinated through the Division of Cancer Biology (DCB).

Biorepositories and Tissue Sample Collection Development of biospecimen-related policies and practices affecting NCI Biorepositories is coordinated and managed through the Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB).

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research contributing to the advancement of evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine practice is supported by the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM).

Cancer Health Disparities Basic cancer research from a health disparities perspective is supported by the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD).

Epidemiology and Cancer Control Research in genetic, epidemiologic, behavioral, social, and surveillance cancer research is supported by the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).

HIV /AIDS and Cancer Research on HIV/AIDS pursued throughout the NCI, including programs in AIDS-related cancer are coordinated by the Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy (OHAM).

Nanotechnology Research supporting the application of nanotechnology to all aspects of cancer research is supported by the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program that is managed by the Office of Cancer Nanotechnology Research (OCNR).

Physical Sciences-Oncology Research supporting the establishment of scientific teams and individual scientists from the fields of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering to develop novel approaches for cancer research is managed by the Physical Sciences in Oncology Initiative.

Prevention Research that determines and reduces a person’s risk of developing cancer, as well as research to develop and evaluate cancer screening procedures, is supported by the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP).

Proteomics Research supporting the development of technologies and reagents that will advance our understanding of protein biology in cancer is supported by the Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research (OCCPR).

Small Business and Small Business Technology Transfer Opportunities to increase small business and private sector participation to develop and commercialize novel technologies to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer are managed by the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR and STTR) programs.

Statistical Methodology Resources for statisticians are available from StatFund, an online resource that provides information about biostatistical funding opportunities.

Technology Development Research supporting the development of technologies in clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological research are managed by the Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies Program (IMAT).

Translational Research Research supporting the translation of promising research areas into improved diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for cancer patients is supported by the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD).